The new business component slipped last month to 57.3, compared to the preliminary reading of 57.6 and June's final 60.8.

Confidence about the year-ahead business outlook in the services sector slipped to the lowest since November 2012.

Markit's final composite PMI, a weighted average of its manufacturing and services indexes, hit 60.6 in July, also the second-highest final reading on record, versus 61.0 in June and a preliminary 60.9.